Jaufre Rudel

Judith M. Davis (Goshen College)

Ed. by Tim Unwin, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.01: French Writing and Culture: Old French to the Middle Ages , 500-1400.
Vol. editors: Marianne Ailes (University of Bristol), Matthew Siôn Lampitt (University of Bristol), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

Activity -ongoing
Born c. 1100
Died c. 1148

Places

Born in France
Active in France

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Rudel's Works

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A longed-for love, half a world away: that subject gained for the troubadour Jaufre Rudel a lasting place in medieval songbooks as well as in the legends of his time and ours. A nobleman of Blaye in southwest France, he was dispossessed of his lands by his overlord, Guillem IX of Aquitaine (1071-1126) who “seized the Blaye stronghold and levelled its walls and tower” (Rosenstein 503) when Jaufre was in his twenties. Virtually nothing else is known about him except that he composed his songs of spiritual and political exile during the second quarter of the twelfth century. A highly romanticized account of his life, or

vida

, written during the thirteenth century, created a biography from six songs he wrote about his love. A shorter version of the

vida

reads:

Jaufre Rudel of Blaye was

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1100 words

Citation: M. Davis, Judith. "Jaufre Rudel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 November 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11751, accessed 25 November 2024.]